Thieves Target Christian Music CDs

When thieves decide to rob a music store, chances are they will go for the bestselling albums, however, that was not the focus for two men in a North Knoxville bookstore, who decided to go for all the Christian music CDs.

According to knoxnews.com, the two men exited the bookstore with an armful of CDs on Wednesday. Len Granath, manager of the store, described one of the suspects carrying CDs “like up to his chin” as he was exiting the store.

Their indiscreet job continued when they tried to steal a car belonging to a guard in a bank nearby.

Later a Knoxville Police Department office arrived to the scene and along with the bank guard arrested the two men and returned the CDs; around 40 of them and worth less than $500, to the bookstore.

The two men, Justin William Daley and Robert Crawford, both 29-years-old were arrested for theft and attempted theft of a vehicle with the addition of public intoxication for Daley.

The manager described the theft as a “comical” event due to the unpopularity of Christian CDs among thieves in the store. He reported that the most popular stolen items include Bill Gaither Trio gospel CDs and the Bible.

Granath explained, “In fact, we always position those where they can be observed."

According to the report, the store has now taken extra precautions against future thefts by having one single entrance and exit where Bibles remain visible to thieves on their way out.